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Abstract

Abstract | Cucurbit vegetable crops depend primarily on such insects as solitary bees, honeybees, bumblebees, stingless bees, wasps and hover flies for their pollination, seed setting and fruit production. Modern plant protection strategies predominantly based on synthetic pesticides have led to considerable decline in insect pollination services and sustainable production. The present study was aimed to compare the impact of different pollinator conservation techniques on fruit and yield parameters of round gourd (Praecitrullus fistulosus L.). The trial was conducted at College of Agriculture, University of Sargodha using randomized complete block design. Three treatments including installation of bee hotels, beehives and flowers intercropping were evaluated for their effect on the number of fruits, fruit weight, fruit diameter and average fruit yield. The results revealed that the presence of beehives improved pollination of round gourd and showed 1.32 to 1.95 fold increase in number of fruits per plant, 1.33 to 2.10 fold increase in average fruit yield per plant, 0.92 to 1.32 fold increase in fruit weight and 23.9% increase in fruit size. Moreover, treatment plots with bee hotels and flower intercropping also showed higher fruit yield as compared to the control. The correlation analyses further showed strongly positive association between fruit sizes, number of fruits and fruit yields. Novelty Statement | This in-situ study has demonstrated that the presence of honeybees in cucurbit fields can significantly improve the yield and fruit parameters of round gourd.